In the mid-’90s, his Stein-like role was formalized when Paraiso began
convening dance and cabaret events for the late Ellen Stewart, La MaMa’s
formidable founder. Since then, he’s been seen less behind the piano or
wielding a violin or concertina on stage, but has developed an
important role as an artistic mentor on the East Fourth Street “Arts
Block” in the East Village, where La MaMa is a keystone institution, as
well as at many Lower East Side performances spaces.